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Surprise: The Lamborghini Countach is coming back

By Chris Davies/

The Lamborghini Countach is set to return, with the Italian automaker revealing its surprise news about the iconic supercar today. Arguably epitomizing a generation of raw, alluring sports cars – and gracing plenty of bedroom walls in the process – the Countach also put Lamborghini's wedge-shaped styling on the map.

That aesthetic has proved enduring even decades later. The first Countach prototype was shown off at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show, but it took three further years of development before the Lamborghini engineers could make a production-ready version.

That debuted in 1974, complete with Bertone styling that was a huge departure from the curvaceous Lamborghini Miura which came before it. Unapologetically angular, the Countach also featured scissor doors for the first time on a Lamborghini, lifting up and forward. Over sixteen years, the automaker made less than 2,000 cars.

Now, in a Monday shock, Lamborghini has announced that the Countach is coming back. A new teaser is high on hype and low on details: "Future is our legacy," Lamborghini says. "And the new Lamborghini Countach is coming. Stay tuned..."

The accompanying image gives little away, but certainly doesn't skimp on those Countach hallmarks. Long, low, and distinctively wedge-shaped, it looks to feature short rear overhangs and the distinctive silhouette that have become Lamborghini shorthand in the intervening years.

Just what might be underneath the sheet – and the wedge bodywork – remains unclear. One possibility is that this is a heavily modified version of an existing model, such as the Lamborghini Aventador. The automaker recently confirmed that the Aventador Ultimae would be the last of its series, and indeed the final non-hybrid implementation of the V12.

That might mean something exciting in electrification is about ready to debut. We've seen the sort of thing Lamborghini has in mind there, with the Sian combining a twelve-cylinder gas engine with electric drive. Earlier this year, a new roadmap for the company confirmed that would spawn a hybrid series production car in 2023, built in far greater numbers than the Sian coupe of which only 63 were produced.

By the end of 2024, Lamborghini says, its entire range will be electrified in some way. In the second half of the decade we'll see its first, fully-electric model – the fourth in its line-up, Lamborghini suggests – and described as "the brightest star in the constellation."

Will the new Countach be a hybrid or full-electric? Lamborghini certainly hasn't been afraid of big promises and sky-high technology – the surprising Lamborghini Terzo Millennio concept was evidence of that – and it might just take a familiar name to help bring the raging bull into a brave new world of electrification. Still, a hybrid seems more likely given the timelines for an EV, and it's not hard to imagine this new Countach debuting at the upcoming Monterey Car Week 2021, which kicks off next week.

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